Gut Reaction: Week 11 - Broncos vs Chiefs

It’s true when he’s healthy. It’s true when he’s feeling a little average. And it’s true when his ankle is as hurt as an Alex Smith checkdown.

The Broncos just restored order to the NFL with their 27-17 win, which could have been a lot more lopsided. The NFL simply can’t have teams like the Chiefs masquerading around like a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

You can’t say enough good things about all of the members of the Broncos offensive line: Manny Ramirez, Zane Beadles, and Louis Vasquez completely stoned the interior of the Chiefs defensive line, while Chris Clark and Orlando Franklin looked as fleet as ever. It doesn’t hurt that the Broncos were cleverly sticking to the run. Justin Houston and Tamba Hali never got comfortable figuring out what was coming.

Eric Berry could be a combination of Deion Sanders and Champ Bailey and it wouldn’t matter; Julius Thomas is too big at the goal line. He could check Berry into the goal post if he wanted.

Just as Ted and I were talking about the need for Demaryius Thomas to use his superior strength against pitifully small defensive backs, he goes all vertical—by using his hands to get separation. Eric Decker wasn't bad himself.

Kansas City tried to bracket Wes Welker when they could, but as it often goes, the best laid plans—well they get waylaid.

Good evening. What can you get for me? Well, I’m glad you asked. I’ll take a Trevathan/Jammer combination platter.

Led by the great David Bruton, the Broncos coverage unit was especially good in this game. And they needed it; In a close game that could turn on even a marginally good special teams play, it was critical the Broncos shut down Dexter McCluster. Props to Andre Caldwell and Virgil Green as well.

Knowshon Moreno played the part of steamroller, while Montee Ball played scorecard. But it was their pass blocking that stole the show.

Malik Jackson had his best game as a Bronco tonight. He won’t be confused with J.J. Watt tomorrow or next week, but he was a pass deflecting, gap shooting machine. For a guy I thought was going to be a little undersized in the NFL, I’m stoked that I was wrong.

The same can be said for Shaun Phillips: he sacked, tackled, and pass racked (deflect doesn’t rhyme) all game long.

The Negatives

Duke Ihenacho’s taunting penalty was as bad as it gets. There’s nothing more to say. Actually, let me take a shot—stupid is as stupid taunts. This game was easily Ihenacho’s worst of the season.

Upon further review, the fumble thought to be Montee Ball's fault was actually caused by Manning’s high ball placement. FWIW, the official scorers agreed.

Jamaal Charles is as good as it gets when it comes to the modern day running back. If you missed it, over his career, he’s averaging more yards per carry than the great Jim Brown. I’m just shocked that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie caught him. I’d pay good money to watch DRC and Trindon Holliday run against each other in a 100-meter dash.

When was the last time you saw Peyton Manning burn a timeout because of a defensive scheme? The last time I remember, the Broncos were playing Troy Polamalu.

I wonder if Wesley Woodyard was banged up out there. The eye test scored him: slower than usual.

Holliday was bottled up again. How long can it last? My guess is not another game.

For those wanting to rip Von Miller for losing his fast-twitch fibers, get real. He played injured most of the second half (looks like a back and a calf). Also, how do you think Shaun Phillips is getting singled up for all of those pressures and sacks?

You may not have noticed, but the Broncos lost Rahim Moore in the second half to a leg injury.

When you pile enough guys on Wes Welker, are you shocked that he might get a concussion?

Enough already—I’m getting sick of all of the encroachment penalties by the Broncos defensive line. In fact, if you notice on all of the Chiefs’ scoring drives, there was one commonality: dumbass penalties.

The Who The Heck Knows

From his couch tonight, even John Fox was laughing at Andy Reid’s decision to kick a field goal on fourth down from the one-yard line.

Almost as fun as this Broncos win—watching the Chargers gain a million yards in their afternoon game and still come away losers.

You know what I could give a F#$@! less about? Tiger Woods watching a Broncos game.

What you know but won’t hear a lot about—Peyton Manning wasn’t even 70% tonight.

Steven Johnson had one tackle tonight, and my god, it was a hammer. If I could tackle my boss half as hard at the next annual job review, I’d be in business (or in jail).

As my good friend Doc Bear reminded me during the game, cutbacks are often a source of long runs in football. Regarding the Charles run, here’s what Doc wrote: “Just a point on the Charles run - Lou Tepper is one of the great LB coaches of all time. He noted in his Complete Linebacking that most long run plays come from cutbacks. He placed both shed and pursuit techniques over tackling as the most important abilities for a LB because of that.”

Did Peyton Manning play well? Of course, but by his standards, it was a rather ho-hum night.

Cris Collinsworth must smoke something harder than weed. How else do you explain his statement that the Chiefs defense played really well tonight? The Broncos rolled up 427 yards in offense, and that’s with a lot of milking of the clock.

Don’t get too excited, Broncos fans. Tonight’s win was great, and it’s nice to have the first seed (at the moment), but the Broncos have a lot of work still ahead before the dust settles. I'm more worried about the Patriots than I am about the Chiefs.

Doc offers a look at the Falcons roster in advance of Denver's Week 2 game in Atlanta tonight

In no way was he playing the ball.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-11-18 17:36:04

Bavarian Cream is the winner.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-11-18 17:15:57

Thanks. I'll be watching the game again later this week, and I'll check it out.

Posted by carsonic on 2013-11-18 16:43:46

It was part of the NBC broadcast in the second half. Flowers laid Welker out more than once on (what appeared to be) blind-side blocks. I'm thinking one in particular may have contributed to his concussion.

Posted by MakeCents02 on 2013-11-18 15:58:55

Please post a link to this montage of which you speak.

Posted by carsonic on 2013-11-18 15:51:06

Going into the offseason and living out near SD, I thought that the only sure-things on their DB group were Weddle and Jammer. As with Phillips, their mistakes have become our profit - thanks for the upgrades, guys.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2013-11-18 15:40:59

Nice pun on Knighton - yep, a huge pickup :D

Posted by Doc Bear on 2013-11-18 15:39:22

lol - love that instant draft analysis. Kayvon's reach-in-front technique on the drag route over the middle was flawless - and he's perhaps the most physical CB we have, which is saying a lot. Give him some coaching and experience and JE's found another big winner.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2013-11-18 15:38:15

Luckily, Julius' leg that was hit wasn't planted, otherwise it would have been a grievous injury. As it was, the knee that took the hit was unplanted and he just caught a knock.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-11-18 14:53:55

And Colts. I was really stunned there weren't more gratuitous hits on KC, and was inclined to give 'em some credit; but then I saw the montage of Flowers on Welker.

Posted by MakeCents02 on 2013-11-18 14:35:06

One of the great truths of this game, Yahmule

Posted by Doc Bear on 2013-11-18 14:28:12

One thing that you could see that the Broncos really emphasized in practice last week - no runner goes anywhere w/o the ball. If you attack it and get a firm hand on it, the runner can't continue his forward progress. If you look at the goal line work of Denver (ditto the Danny/Jammer takeaway), that approach paid dividends. Thanks for the h/t, TJ. GR Rocks!

Posted by Doc Bear on 2013-11-18 14:21:25

Is it just me, or does it sound like he says "Rahim ka-Dream"?

Posted by carsonic on 2013-11-18 14:21:00

Another nice signing who is getting more and more comfortable in his role.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-11-18 14:19:59

Yeah, I am so glad to see him starting to live up to the player we thought we were getting when we picked him up at the beginning of the year, only to see him disappear for a while. I was sure he was going to get traded there for a while.

Posted by carsonic on 2013-11-18 14:19:51

Louis Vasquez sure takes some pressure off (literally).

Posted by VonSwenson on 2013-11-18 14:10:02

If Rahim, maybe ... indulges ... in that "stuff", then perhaps he's in the dream most of the time?

Posted by VonSwenson on 2013-11-18 14:08:18

Jammer had a pretty good game too - he made he initial stop on the KC fullback, from where Trevathen smacked the ball loose, for a potential 14 point swing!

Posted by VonSwenson on 2013-11-18 14:07:04

Love to see that.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-11-18 13:16:30

The encroachment penalties made me think Dumervil was still here.

Posted by billyricky on 2013-11-18 12:46:40

It's easier to knock down a checkdown pass (lower trajectory) than a downfield pass. Smith is pretty preictable with his checkdowns. You also saw two or three short Manning passes get batted.

Posted by billyricky on 2013-11-18 12:46:06

I thought that was just one of those plays - the defender was diving for the ball, and Thomas planted his foot just before the two ran into each other.

Posted by billyricky on 2013-11-18 12:40:40

They werent close enough to Manning to hit him legally, so they had to pull up or get penalties. Of course, some teams (Ravens, Seahawks, Lions) would take the penalties just to get that big hit on Manning and maybe injure him.

Posted by billyricky on 2013-11-18 12:38:49

The ref said a defensive player was within 1 yard of the line of scrimmage, and jumped, drawing the offense offside. I guess technically you can't call it encroachment, if he didn't cross the line of scrimmage, but calling it delay of game seems a little strange. It did delay the game, though.

Posted by billyricky on 2013-11-18 12:26:52

I believe you only get a 10 second run-off if the clock would normally keep running at the end of the play. so incomplete passes, out of bounds plays, etc. do not get the time run-off.

Actually, I'm not sure if the run-off is for every penalty, or just dead ball penalties.

Posted by billyricky on 2013-11-18 12:23:37

Another huge pickup was Knighton. Welker got all the press and rightfully so but DRC and Knighton were pretty big as well.

Posted by IDBronco on 2013-11-18 12:21:09

But wasn't drafting Kayvon in the 3rd a reach?

Posted by RyanHennigan on 2013-11-18 12:17:38

+1I thought it was a dumb flag too. More often than not, far worse actions than this don't get called.

Is there anybody even in the picture for Executive of the Year besides John Elway?

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-11-18 10:41:32

No, I like it. Subtle, but effective! I appreciate all reasonable efforts at punnery and the like.

Which reminds me of this one: "A pun, a play on words, and an anecdote walk into a bar. No joke."

Posted by carsonic on 2013-11-18 10:33:54

And such a trite nickname. Better options:Rahim "The Scream" MooreRahim "Jet Stream" MooreRahim "Bavarian Cream" MooreRahim "Gentlemen, you have to find that gleam" Moore (Schottenheimer submitted this one).

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-11-18 10:33:51

Yes, too-many-Broncos-to-love syndrome is one of those good kind of problems.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-11-18 10:28:25

You first.

Posted by John Tomasik on 2013-11-18 10:23:51

Can we create a petition to get Rahem Moore to STOP calling himself "the Dream" on those intro's??? I think it's fairly obvious that he gave himself that nickname...which is something of a "guy code" violation.

Posted by Ralph_W on 2013-11-18 10:19:53

I'm not sick of the encroachment penalties. That's the price you have to pay when you have an aggressive defense. And, after watching the defense of the Broncos over the past 15 years, I'm happy to see the Broncos take penalties that are because they're aggressive.

Go get 'em, Broncos.

Posted by John Tomasik on 2013-11-18 10:14:45

I won't say it was a great joke, or even a moderately good one, but it was late and I did what I could.

Posted by DiscoStu on 2013-11-18 10:10:18

your the first person to point out what I felt, that penalty was shit from the ref. Nothing I could see was different from most plays.

Posted by jman75 on 2013-11-18 09:56:16

DRC was a beast tonight.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-11-18 09:41:23

There were some interesting matchups from us in coverage. And my usual complaint; too much lazy zone coverage.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-11-18 09:41:06

He really was great tonight, as was the whole line. Now what in the heck do we do with Clark when Clady comes back? He's too good to rot on the bench.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-11-18 09:39:46

Nice!

Posted by carsonic on 2013-11-18 09:32:19

The coaching staff must have seen something on tape this week about possibly knocking down Smith at the line. As soon as guys knew they couldn't reach home, they'd get their hands up and get a little air. How many knocked down passes were there in the game? Seemed like five or six.

Posted by SammyDEEEEEE on 2013-11-18 09:29:47

Agreed

Posted by Dennis on 2013-11-18 09:07:45

How does Klis have a job? Have you ever heard him being interviewed ob SiriusXM by Bob Papa? I think Klis must've had a few concussions

Posted by Dennis on 2013-11-18 09:06:05

Curious, how good can Malik Jackson get because it seems like he's developing into a stone cold beast. You know you have an awesome team when you find yourself struggling to pick your favorite Bronco.

Also, though I love me some Welker, I think DRC was our best off-season acquisition. I know Webster's play makes Champ's loss easier to stomach, but it all starts with DRC.

Posted by Benjamin Funderburk on 2013-11-18 08:55:56

Just a couple of things: I would have to add Rahim Moore to the negatives prior to his injury; the angle he took on that Charles run was pathetic. Also, while he made some good plays, I thought D. Thomas had a pretty bad night, particularly in the first half as he almost got Welker killed by whiffing on a block and then did a pretty poor job of going after a ball along the sidelines just before the half. And personally, I got the idea that Ihenacho was playing hurt and while jawing at a guy after a play is never necessary, that taunting call was pure horsesh*t. I think the Chiefs have a pretty good team, but if you can get out ahead of them, Alex Smith is not made for playing catch up.

Posted by SteveS on 2013-11-18 07:33:44

all his WRs were headed to the end zone- so nobody to check down!

Posted by MississippiMudWalk on 2013-11-18 07:11:32

Rahim seemed to take a terrible angle on Charles when he broke the big gain. I hope he isn't hurt too bad, but I wouldn't mind seeing someone else step in for him. With Kayvon, DRC and CHJr playing solid corner, time to do more than just think about Champ to safety?

Posted by MississippiMudWalk on 2013-11-18 07:09:47

Well, I was one of the worriers who thought that our line was suspect and that the mighty Cheese would expose them and PMFM would suffer as a result. I am so glad I was wrong. I also credit Gase for really stepping up and doing what he said needed to be done with calling better plays and protections.

I like that Eric Decker matched his buddy DT's acrobatic feat of 'extending the ball'. I'm also happy that Jammer seems to be coming on strong; I really assumed he'd be off the team by now after his virtual invisibility earlier in the season. OTOH, where is CJ Anderson? He had a pretty decent game 2 weeks ago; I felt sure we'd see him after the handoff miscue. Not that we needed him, though. Moreno and Ball made good. That Bubba Caldwell tackle was a thing of beauty, wasn't it?

One last observation, it appears that our DBs are being coached to tackle the 'ball arm' of the receiver when they arrive at the same time as the ball. Moore caused a fumble that way a couple weeks ago, and I noticed (I think it was) Adams going for the same thing on an incomplete last night. Is that a common thing? I haven't noticed it before, but maybe I'm just getting more perceptive.

I thought the play of the game was the Jammer / Trevathen takeaway from their fullback, just after they'd gotten the fumble recovery and the short field. Boom boom and we had a TD ofter that. It was about a 40% swing on the "worm" in win percentages.

Also kudos to Manning for his tackle after the fumble recovery. Probably saved a touchdown.

I've got to say, though, that at times it almost seemed too easy. After the Jags and Chargers roughing up Manning any chance they got, and how wild Flowers was in coverage, seeing the Chiefs rushers pulling up instead of accidentally knocking Manning down made me wonder Why? Warned by the refs? Anyway, great to see an honourable game tonight. Hopefully Welker and the others are OK.

Posted by VonSwenson on 2013-11-18 03:33:25

Thanks TJ. Always appreciate your take on Gut Reaction!I was so pleased by the play of our OL. Certainly helped by the number of rushing attempts and their success. Right on giving the plaudits to the 3 guys in the middle as well as our OTs. It has been awhile since I have seen a Bronco OL dominate in the middle against this kind of defense.Malik Jackson is a real stud! He comes to play every day. Such an amazing addition to the DL. I hope that DRC is signed to an extension soon. You're right - TJ - catching Charles was a thing of beauty. His strut after a successful play is too cool.IMO - it was good for the Broncos to be 2nd to these guys for some time. It made them reach down and pull up the desire to win - and to make their own destiny.

Posted by BlackKnigh on 2013-11-18 02:47:53

Am i the only one that was confused with our defense?

I remember seeing Danny T. Covering bowe. Just a lot of strange calls LB covering WR, Moore and Nacho covering bowe. DRC had duties on Mccluster i think? Harris split coverage on Bowe, but where was webster?

Posted by David Huynh on 2013-11-18 02:28:39

Who the heck know? Alex smith not taking a shot with 1 min left. I guess he didnt want to throw a INT for the stat books.

Posted by David Huynh on 2013-11-18 02:24:34

NE had to watch tonight but play tomo...key will be stopping the run and eliminate gronk.

Posted by Joshua Graham on 2013-11-18 02:18:49

Its funny Manning had what 50% tonite ish? But what at 50%! Hope Julius is ok...Flowers beat up on Welker, but he came up swinging...what guts he played with...for all the talk this week, the OLine made it happen...Manning wont need to even wash his jersey...Champions have games like this...defined as TJ having to find stuff to fill out the negatives section!

Posted by denverkewl on 2013-11-18 01:56:58

My gut reaction... All things considered, that effort still wins in arrowhead. Closer game, but still a W.

Posted by Brian M. Jacobson on 2013-11-18 01:26:15

Klis gets paid for such pearls of insight, folks:

@MikeKlis: Wes Welker has concussion but chances are he doesn't want to miss next week's game at New England.

Posted by underdog on 2013-11-18 01:19:45

Think it sums it up. It was a soft, baby-face Van Damme beatdown kind of night.

Posted by laosuan on 2013-11-18 01:18:30

The coaches gave Chris Clark a game ball tonight. Well deserved. The whole line was fantastic.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-11-18 01:15:08

Agreed about Malik, he just gets better and more impressive with every passing week. He was all over the place tonight.

Posted by underdog on 2013-11-18 01:12:00

Sooo tired.. but cannot go to bed with out Gut Reactions. Thanks Dude.